Friends of the Bay

What Friends of the Bay does

Friends of the Bay is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental organization headquartered at 111 South Street, Suite 210 in Oyster Bay, New York, with a 7-person staff (firmographics). It is the primary community-based advocacy organization dedicated to the approximately 6,000-acre Oyster Bay / Cold Spring Harbor estuary and its roughly 40 linear miles of shoreline on the north shore of Long Island. Its mission centers on preserving water quality, restoring shellfish habitat, and protecting the watershed from pollution and coastal development pressure; it serves local residents, volunteers and citizen scientists, commercial baymen, and municipal governments within Nassau County.

The organization's core programs are scientific and field-based rather than technology-based. The Water Quality Monitoring Program conducts weekly sampling from May through October at 14 open-water sites and 10 tributary/outfall sites, testing for enterococci, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, pH, clarity, and nitrogen; data is shared via Save the Sound's QuickDrops platform. The Re-Clam the Bay initiative, run in partnership with the Town of Oyster Bay, stocks shellfish sanctuaries with locally sourced adult hard clams and offers nine donation tiers from $15 to $6,000. Complementary programs include monthly beach cleanups (February–November), diamondback terrapin monitoring, horseshoe crab surveys, a sugar kelp cultivation pilot, story-map educational content, the monthly Currents newsletter, and publications such as the State of the Watershed Report and Watershed Action Plan. There is no proprietary software platform; distribution is handled through a Squarespace website, PayPal, and a NeonCRM portal.

Approximately 90% of the operating budget is funded by donations and grants, complemented by membership fees, an online store, and event-based fundraising. Go-to-market is community-led: volunteer engagement, monthly beach cleanups, team-building events, a newsletter, social media, and earned media in outlets such as the Oyster Bay Herald and Newsday. Strategic partnerships with the Town of Oyster Bay, Save the Sound, Long Island Sound Study, The Nature Conservancy, Stony Brook University, and Adelphi University anchor its advocacy and restoration work, while a 2009 EPA Region 2 Environmental Quality Award and the December 2025 signing of the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act reflect its regulatory standing.

Name

Friends of the Bay

Legal name

Friends of the Bay

Website

https://friendsofthebay.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Friends of the Bay is a 7-person 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Oyster Bay, New York that monitors water quality, restores shellfish, and advocates for the 6,000-acre Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary on behalf of local residents, volunteers, and municipal governments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Shellfish Farming (112512), Aquaculture (11251)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marine Shellfish Farming (e.g., oysters, mussels, clams) (AFAEAAAB), Aquatic Ecology & Fisheries Assessments (EUAHAHAB)

Keywords

• Watershed conservation services
• Water quality monitoring
• Shellfish restoration
• Estuary habitat protection
• Citizen science programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Oyster Bay

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Approximately 90% of the organization's operating budget comes from donations and grants. These include general public donations, major gifts, and grant funding from foundations and government agencies supporting water quality monitoring and habitat restoration programs.
2. Membership Program: The organization operates a membership program where individuals can become members for an annual fee. Members receive communications and are part of the organization's constituency supporting its mission.
3. Re-Clam the Bay Donations: Donations specifically designated for the Re-Clam the Bay shellfish restoration project. 100% of donations to this project go directly toward purchasing and stocking clams in shellfish sanctuary areas. Suggested donation levels range from $15 to $6,000.
4. Online Store Sales: The organization operates an online store selling merchandise to supporters and the public.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Friends of the Bay is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental organization that conducts biweekly water quality monitoring across 24 sites in the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary, restores shellfish populations through the Re-Clam the Bay initiative (stocking sanctuary areas with adult hard clams), and runs volunteer-driven conservation programs including monthly beach cleanups, horseshoe crab surveys, and diamondback terrapin monitoring. The organization also publishes the Currents newsletter, the State of the Watershed report, the Watershed Action Plan, and maintains a public Water Quality Data Portal contributing to Save the Sound's QuickDrops platform.

Product overview

Friends of the Bay is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit environmental organization that operates as a unified set of conservation programs rather than a traditional software product. The organization's offerings include: the Water Quality Monitoring Program as its core scientific initiative (weekly sampling at 24 sites for bacteria, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, pH, clarity, and nitrogen); the Re-Clam the Bay shellfish restoration initiative in partnership with the Town of Oyster Bay; beach cleanup volunteer programs; horseshoe crab and diamondback terrapin conservation monitoring; the Currents monthly newsletter; and the Water Quality Data Portal contributing to Save the Sound's QuickDrops platform. These programs are complemented by research publications including the State of the Watershed Report and Watershed Action Plan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Re-Clam the Bay: A project initiative spearheaded by Friends of the Bay in cooperation with the Town of Oyster Bay to bring back a healthy clam population to the bays by stocking shellfish sanctuary areas with locally sourced adult hard clams

Products and services

• Water Quality Monitoring Program Biweekly water quality monitoring program from May through October at 14 open-water sites and 10 tributary/outfall sites, testing for enterococci and fecal coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, pH, clarity, and monthly nitrogen samples. Open to the community as a citizen science program supporting the EPA-approved Quality Assurance Project Plan.
• Re-Clam the Bay Shellfish restoration initiative in partnership with the Town of Oyster Bay that stocks designated shellfish sanctuary areas with locally sourced adult hard clams to restore spawning populations and repopulate the bays.
• Beach Cleanup Program Monthly volunteer beach cleanups from February to November, including the annual International Coastal Cleanup Day and team-building cleanup events for groups and corporate volunteers at local Oyster Bay-area beaches.
• Horseshoe Crab Protection Conservation advocacy and citizen-science program focused on horseshoe crab spawning surveys, education, and regulatory protections in the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary.
• Diamondback Terrapin Monitoring Volunteer turtle tracking and monitoring program for diamondback terrapins, a threatened species that depends on protected marshes and nesting beaches in the Oyster Bay watershed.
• Water Quality Data Portal Public-facing interactive maps and historical datasets showing enterococci bacteria levels and other water quality indicators across sampling sites, with data contributed to Save the Sound's QuickDrops regional data-sharing platform.
• Online Store (Merchandise) Online store selling branded merchandise to supporters and the general public through the friendsofthebay.org website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fecal coliform levels in Mill Neck Creek decreased approximately 60% compared to 2011 levels by 2022
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Theodore Roosevelt Audubon SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheodore Roosevelt Audubon Society is listed as a partner organization on Friends of the Bay's partner page. The two organizations have collaborated on conservation initiatives including International Coastal Cleanup Day 2024 at Centre Island Beach and Stehli Beach.
• Citizens Campaign for the EnvironmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner organization on Friends of the Bay's partner page, representing a collaborative relationship in environmental advocacy and education on Long Island.
• CCE Suffolk County Marine ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County Marine Program is listed as a partner organization, collaborating on marine conservation and water quality initiatives.
• Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation DistrictminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner organization, collaborating on watershed and soil conservation efforts within Nassau County.
• CCE NassauminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCornell Cooperative Extension Nassau is listed as a partner organization on the partner page.
• Long Island Sound Study / Long Island Sound PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Long Island Sound Study (LISS) is a federal-state partnership program overseen by the EPA. Friends of the Bay participates in LISS programs and contributes data to the QuickDrops water quality data sharing platform developed by Save the Sound. Oyster Bay is one of 30-plus areas highlighted by the LISS Stewardship Initiative.
• The Nature ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Nature Conservancy is collaborating with Friends of the Bay and the Town of Oyster Bay to determine the best methods, locations, and acreage needed to rebuild shellfish populations in the estuary following the expiration of the Frank M. Flower & Sons lease.
• North Shore Land AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner organization, representing land conservation collaboration on Long Island.
• Oyster Bay Main Street AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a partner organization, representing a local economic and community development partnership.
• Save the SoundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSave the Sound is a regional environmental organization. Friends of the Bay was one of the first groups to contribute data to Save the Sound's QuickDrops platform, a data sharing platform for water quality information specific to the Long Island Sound watershed. The organizations also collaborate through the Unified Water Study program.
• The WaterFront CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner organization. The WaterFront Center in Oyster Bay holds horseshoe crab spawning surveys at Beekman and Roosevelt beaches each summer.
• Town of Oyster BaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFriends of the Bay works in close partnership with the Town of Oyster Bay on the Re-Clam the Bay project, shellfish sanctuary designations, shellfish ordinance amendments, and a new shellfish hatchery. The Town's 2024 Cashin Associates study of the former leased bay bottom is conducted in coordination with the organization.
• Stony Brook UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStony Brook University is collaborating with Friends of the Bay and the Town of Oyster Bay to determine the best methods, locations, and acreage needed to rebuild shellfish populations in the bay.
• Adelphi UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdelphi University is mentioned as a collaborator alongside Stony Brook University and Friends of the Bay in shellfish restoration planning for the former Flower lease area.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Save the Sound: A regional nonprofit that operates the QuickDrops and Unified Water Study water quality data platforms in the Long Island Sound watershed. Friends of the Bay contributes data to Save the Sound and partner on the Unified Water Study, making them direct peers in estuary water quality monitoring and advocacy.
• North Shore Land Alliance: A Long Island land trust listed as a partner of Friends of the Bay. Operates on adjacent conservation priorities (land preservation, watershed protection) on the same north shore geography with a similar small-staff nonprofit model.
• Long Island Sound Study / Long Island Sound Partnership: A federal-state partnership under EPA oversight that coordinates Long Island Sound stewardship and grant programs. Friends of the Bay participates in LISS programs and contributes monitoring data, making LISS a direct peer convener in the same ecosystem.
• Citizens Campaign for the Environment: A Long Island-based environmental advocacy nonprofit listed as a partner of Friends of the Bay. Operates with a similar community-led, advocacy-driven model focused on water quality, environmental education, and policy on Long Island.
• Theodore Roosevelt Audubon Society: A Long Island Audubon chapter that partners with Friends of the Bay on beach cleanups and conservation initiatives on the north shore. Comparable in operating model (small staff, volunteer-driven, coastal conservation).
• Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program (Suffolk & Nassau): University-affiliated marine extension programs listed as partners of Friends of the Bay. Run similar marine conservation and citizen science programs on Long Island, including shellfish and water quality work.

Regional players

• Heal the Bay: A California-based coastal nonprofit running beach cleanups, water quality monitoring, and advocacy. Comparable in nonprofit community-led structure and water quality monitoring mandate, but operates on a different coastline.

Broad incumbents

• Chesapeake Bay Foundation: A large regional nonprofit focused on Chesapeake Bay watershed restoration, including oyster restoration and water quality monitoring. A relevant comparable for estuary-scale community-led conservation and shellfish restoration, though operating in a different geography.
• The Nature Conservancy (Long Island Chapter): A large global conservation nonprofit currently partnering with Friends of the Bay and Stony Brook University on shellfish restoration in Oyster Bay. Operates at a much broader scale but on overlapping watershed conservation work.
• Surfrider Foundation: A national coastal nonprofit with a Long Island chapter focused on beach cleanups, water quality, and coastal advocacy. Operates a similar volunteer-driven model with comparable beach cleanup and Blue Water Task Force monitoring programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friends-of-the-bay

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Friends of the Bay